Forem: Oluwaseyi Asowo

Deploy WordPress Locally with Vagrant + LAMP Learn how to spin up a VM, set up Apache, MySQL, PHP, and install WordPress - all from scratch. 📘 Clean, beginner-friendly, and practical. Check it out.

Oluwaseyi Asowo — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 22:42:57 +0000

Oluwaseyi Asowo

Jun 16 '25

Deploying a WordPress Site on Apache Server with Vagrant (LAMP Stack)

#wordpress #vagrant #linux

Comments 2

4 min read

Deploying a WordPress Site on Apache Server with Vagrant (LAMP Stack)

Oluwaseyi Asowo — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:49:32 +0000

🎉 Hello guys I'm back again and in this guide, we’re spinning up a full WordPress server using Vagrant on an Ubuntu box powered by the mighty LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP). Whether you're just getting started or practicing your automation skills, this walk-through is designed to be as fun as it is functional.

🧰 Prerequisites

Before you begin make sure you’ve got the following installed:

✅ Vagrant
✅ VirtualBox
Basic knowledge of Linux terminal (GIT)

🔧 Step 1: Spin Up Your Vagrant Box

Open your terminal, let’s create a new project folder and initialize our Ubuntu environment:

mkdir wordpress
cd wordpress
vagrant init ubuntu/focal64

Now at this point a vagrant file has been created, lets tweak your Vagrantfile. First run vim Vagrantfile and edit your script like so:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.box = "ubuntu/focal64"
  config.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.56.18"
  config.vm.network "public_network"
  config.vm.boot_timeout = 300

  #300 seconds =5mins

 #Set RAM to 2gb to the VM
  config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
    vb.memory = "2048"
  end

Summary

Base Image: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (ubuntu/focal64)

Networking:

Private network with static IP 192.168.56.18 (host-only access)
Public network (bridged mode for LAN access)

Boot Timeout: 5 minutes (300 seconds) to allow for slower VM startups

Next let's bring up the VM and ssh into it. On your terminal run:

Vagrant up && ssh

All set? Let’s automate the rest! 💻

🧪 Step 2: Installing LAMP Dependencies

Now switcht to root user sudo -i and run the following commands to update packages and install everything WordPress needs:

# Update packages
sudo apt update

# Install Apache, MySQL, PHP, and required modules
sudo apt install apache2 ghostscript libapache2-mod-php mysql-server php php-bcmath php-curl php-imagick php-intl php-json php-mbstring php-mysql php-xml php-zip -y

You just brought the entire LAMP stack to life.🔥

📦 Step 3: Download & Install WordPress

Now let’s grab the latest version of WordPress and put it in the right place:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/www
sudo chown www-data: /srv/www
curl https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz | sudo -u www-data tar zx -C /srv/www

We’re staging WordPress in /srv/www so it’s ready for Apache to serve.

🌐 Step 4: Configure Apache for WordPress

Set up a virtual host for WordPress so it’s properly served from Apache. First open the Apache conf file in vim.

vim /etc/apache2/sites-available/wordpress.conf

Then paste the following content


<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot /srv/www/wordpress
    <Directory /srv/www/wordpress>
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride Limit Options FileInfo
        DirectoryIndex index.php
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    <Directory /srv/www/wordpress/wp-content>
        Options FollowSymLinks
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file: Esc:wq

Next enable the site and modules, and reload Apache:

# Enable the new site and modules
sudo a2ensite wordpress
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo a2dissite 000-default

# Apply changes
sudo systemctl reload apache2

And yeah, Apache is ready with WordPress! 🌐

🛢️ Step 5: Configure MySQL

Let’s set up the database and user that WordPress will use:

Connect to MySQL:

sudo mysql -u root

Run these commands to create a database and user for WordPress (replace admin123 with your own password):

mysql -u root -e 'CREATE DATABASE wordpress;'
mysql -u root -e 'CREATE USER wordpress@localhost IDENTIFIED BY "admin123";'
mysql -u root -e 'GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP,ALTER ON wordpress.* TO wordpress@localhost;'
mysql -u root -e 'FLUSH PRIVILEGES;'

Exit MySQL quit;

You’ve just given WordPress its own playground in MySQL. 🎯

🧩 Step 6: Connect WordPress to the Database

Now, let’s wire up the wp-config.php:

sudo -u www-data cp /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config-sample.php /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php
sudo -u www-data sed -i 's/database_name_here/wordpress/' /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php
sudo -u www-data sed -i 's/username_here/wordpress/' /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php
sudo -u www-data sed -i 's/password_here/admin123/' /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php

🔐 Important: Replace the secret keys with real, secure ones from this link:

WordPress Secret Keys

Paste them into wp-config.php to boost your site's security. 🛡️

sudo -u www-data vim /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php

Ensure to save and close.

🎨 Step 7: Final WordPress Setup (via Browser)

To set up on the browser we need to get the Ip Address by running ip addr show
We will be using the public Ip to access it on the web. Complete the WordPress installer:
- Choose a site title
- Create an admin username and password
- Enter your email
- And click Install! 🎉

✅ That’s a Wrap!

You’ve successfully automated the deployment of a full LAMP-based WordPress site using Vagrant! 🙌

🛠️ Skills Gained
VM Provisioning with Vagrant: Learned how to spin up and configure a reproducible Ubuntu virtual machine using Vagrant and VirtualBox.

LAMP Stack Setup: Installed Apache, MySQL, and PHP to run web apps.
WordPress Deployment: Set up WordPress manually on a local server.
Apache Virtual Hosts: Configured Apache to point to the correct website folder.
MySQL Setup: Created a secure database and user for WordPress.
Security: Secured WordPress with unique keys in the config file.
Local Environment: Learned how to build and manage local dev setups.

so yeah keep experimenting, break things, and build again - that’s the DevOps way 💥

After hosting a static site the traditional way with EC2, I'm moving serverless! Join me as I show you how to host a website easily on Amazon S3 - no servers, no stress. Let's go! #AWS #DevOps

Oluwaseyi Asowo — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 00:17:51 +0000

Oluwaseyi Asowo

Apr 28 '25

🚀 Hosting a Static Website on AWS S3(After EC2)

#s3 #staticwebsite #cloudcomputing #devops

Comments 5

3 min read

🚀 Hosting a Static Website on AWS S3(After EC2)

Oluwaseyi Asowo — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 00:16:36 +0000

🔥 Quick Recap

In my previous article , we spun up an EC2 instance, configured Apache, and hosted a static website the traditional way.

Today, we're taking a lighter, serverless approach, hosting a static website using Amazon S3.

No servers to manage. No SSH logins. Just pure, clean static site hosting. Let’s get into it! 🚀

🧰 What You’ll Need

An AWS account
A static website (you can build yours or grab a free one from Tooplate.com.
Basic familiarity with the AWS Console

📖 Walkthrough: Hosting a Static Website on S3

🛒 Step 1: Create an S3 Bucket

Head over to the AWS S3 Console.
Click on Create Bucket.
Give your bucket a globally unique name in my case "drinkscentral".
Notice that public access is blocked by default, but don't worry, we'll come back to fix that. 😉
Click Create Bucket.

📤 Step 2: Upload Your Website Files

After creating the bucket:

Click into your newly created bucket.
Hit Upload then click Add Files.
Select the files you downloaded from Tooplate.com (or your own static site).
Click Upload.

🔓 Step 3: Set Public Access

Remember earlier when I said public access was blocked? Time to fix that.

Go to the Permissions tab.
Under Block Public Access, click Edit.
Untick the options that block public access.
Save changes.

🛡️ Step 4: Enable ACLs (Access Control Lists)

Why enable ACL?

ACLs let us manually grant permissions to individual objects, like making our uploaded website files publicly readable.

Still in the Permissions tab, scroll to Object Ownership.
Click Edit.
Select ACLs enabled.
Acknowledge and save changes.

🌍 Step 5: Make Objects Public

Now that ACLs are enabled:

Go back to the Objects tab.
Select all uploaded files.
Click Actions then Make public using ACL.

⚙️ Step 6: Enable Static Website Hosting

Finally, let's tell S3 that this bucket is a website.

Go to the Properties tab.
Scroll down to Static website hosting.
Click Edit then Enable.
Enter:
- Index document: index.html
- (Optional) Error document: error.html
Save changes.

🌐 Step 7: Access Your Live Website!

You're done! 🎉

Still in the Properties tab, scroll down to Static Website Hosting.
Copy the Bucket Website Endpoint link.
Paste it into your browser.

Boom 💥 your static site is live, hosted on AWS S3!

🆚 EC2 vs S3 for Static Websites

Feature	EC2 Hosting	S3 Hosting
Server Management	Manual (configure OS, Apache, etc)	Serverless (no management)
Cost	Higher (pay per uptime)	Very low (pay per storage/requests)
Setup Complexity	Medium to High	Easy
Scalability	Manual scaling	Auto scales
Suitable For	Dynamic + static websites	Static websites only

🏁 Final Thoughts

In our previous EC2 approach, we had to spin up servers, configure Apache, and manage everything.

Here on S3, it's simply upload → tweak permissions → launch. Easy, scalable, and super cost-effective.

S3 static hosting is good for portfolios, landing pages, and lightweight projects.

Stay tuned as I continue learning, maybe we'll set up CloudFront, SSL, and custom domains next. 👀

Thanks for following along!

Until next time,

- Oluwaseyi 😁✌️

📚 Useful Resources

Taking my first steps into DevOps and documenting every bit of it. Here’s how I hosted my first static site on EC2. Check it out & follow along!

Oluwaseyi Asowo — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 23:14:11 +0000

Oluwaseyi Asowo

Apr 22 '25

🚀 Hosting a Static Website on AWS EC2 -My First Step Toward DevOps

#aws #cloudcomputing #devops #webhosting

Comments 5

3 min read

🚀 Hosting a Static Website on AWS EC2 -My First Step Toward DevOps

Oluwaseyi Asowo — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 23:06:16 +0000

Hey there! I'm Oluwaseyi - a System Administrator who’s passionate about all things cloud. Lately, I've been diving deep into the world of DevOps, and I thought, what better way to document this journey than to share what I’m learning?

This post is a practical walkthrough of how to host a static website on an AWS EC2 instance. Whether you're trying to understand the basics or just want to throw a simple portfolio online, this one’s for you.

So… ready to deploy your first site on the cloud? Let’s roll.

🧰 What You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to follow along:

An AWS account (Free Tier is fine)
Terminal (Bash or Git Bash on Windows)
A static website (you can grab one from Tooplate - they’ve got nice free templates, or just use your own creation)

⛏️ Prepping Before We Launch the Instance

Before firing up the EC2 instance, there are two things we need to set up:

✅ 1. Create a Key Pair

You’ll use this to SSH into the instance. From your AWS EC2 dashboard:

Go to Key Pairs
Create new
Download the .pem file and store it safely - you’ll need it soon

✅ 2. Set Up a Security Group

This controls what kind of traffic can reach your instance.

Allow SSH (port 22) for connection

🚀 Launch Your EC2 Instance

Now let’s spin up the machine.

Choose Amazon Linux 2 or Ubuntu (I'll be using Ubuntu for this guide - it doesn’t matter much for static sites)
Select t2.micro - Free Tier Eligible
During setup, make sure to:
- Select the security group and key pair you just created
- Download the key pair if you haven’t already (you won’t get another chance)

🔌 Connecting to Your EC2 via SSH

Now, open your terminal and navigate to the folder where your .pem key file is saved. Then connect using this format: ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@[your-ec2-public-ip]

ssh -i "web01.pem" ubuntu@18.204.197.240

If this is your first SSH connection, it might ask you to confirm the fingerprint - just type yes.

📦 Install Required Packages

Once you're in the EC2 shell, let's install a few packages we need:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2 wget unzip -y

That gives us a web server (Apache), and tools to download and extract our template.

📁 Set Up the Static Website

We’re going to grab a template from Tooplate and deploy it.

Create a temporary directory:

mkdir /tmp/webfiles
cd /tmp/webfiles

Now go to Tooplate, pick any template, and copy the direct download link.

Back in your EC2 terminal:

wget https://www.tooplate.com/zip-templates/2132_clean_work.zip
unzip 2132_clean_work.zip

Once unzipped, copy the contents to Apache’s web root and restart the service:

sudo cp -r * /var/www/html/
sudo systemctl restart apache2

🌐 Time to Visit the Site!

Open your browser and type:

But wait… page not responding?

Yeah, that’s because our security group didn’t initially allow HTTP traffic. So let’s fix that.

Head back to your AWS console
Go to Security Groups > Inbound rules
Edit and add HTTP (port 80)
Save, and refresh the browser

Boom! Your site should be live.

✅ Wrap Up

Congrats, you've just deployed a static site to AWS EC2! 🎉

It’s a small step, but a huge part of understanding how cloud hosting works under the hood. As I continue down this DevOps path, I’ll be sharing more tutorials, real-world use cases, and the bumps along the way.

Follow along if you want to grow your cloud confidence one project at a time. and oh, by the way don't forget to clean up your instance when you're done😁.

Using Vagrant to Provision a VM and Multiple VMs

Oluwaseyi Asowo — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 21:13:24 +0000

Let’s face it, managing virtual machines can sometimes feel like juggling flaming swords—complex, intimidating, and prone to mistakes. Enter Vagrant, the ultimate tool that makes provisioning and managing VMs a breeze.

Vagrant is a powerful command-line utility that lets you create lightweight, reproducible, and portable development environments. Whether you're a developer testing applications across multiple systems or a systems administrator managing infrastructure, Vagrant helps you say goodbye to "it works on my machine" syndrome.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to harness the power of Vagrant to spin up a single virtual machine and even manage multiple VMs. Along the way, I’ll share some tips and examples that make this process simple, scalable, and , dare I say, fun.

So, buckle up! We’re about to turn virtualization into a smooth, streamlined experience.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction to Vagrant
Prerequisites
Setting Up a single VM with Vagrant
- Setup 1: Initialize a New Vagrant Project
- Setup 2: Configure the Vagrantfile
- Setup 3: Provision and Access the VM
Provisioning Multiple VMs with Vagrant
- Setup 1: Modify the vagrant file for multiple VMs
- Setup 2: Launch and Manage Multiple VMs
Tips for smooth sailing
Conclusion and Next Steps

Introduction to vagrant

Imagine a tool that turns the tedious process of configuring development environments into a few simple commands. That’s Vagrant! It’s your one-stop solution for setting up, managing, and sharing VMs. Whether you’re testing software, developing web applications, or experimenting with infrastructure configurations, Vagrant ensures consistency across environments.

Key benefits of Vagrant include:
Reproducibility: Share your setup with a single file.
Portability: Take your environment anywhere.
Ease of Use: Spin up and tear down VMs with minimal effort.

Prerequisites

Before we dive in, ensure you have Vagrant, VirtualBox and a terminal let's say GITBASH installed on your machine. If not, here’s how to get started:

Download Vagrant: Head to Vagrant's official site and download the installer for your operating system.
Download Gitbash: Head over to the git bash site here
Install VirtualBox: Vagrant works best with VirtualBox as its default provider. Download it here.
Verify Installation: Open your terminal maybe GITBASH and type

vagrant --version

If you see the version number, you’re good to go!

Setting Up a single VM with Vagrant

Step 1: Initialize a New Vagrant Project

Create a new directory for your project. You can create this directly on your desktop or use the bash command, but make sure you are on the preferred directory either Desktop or wherever.

mkdir vagrant_project && cd vagrant_project

The above script created a Folder called vagrant_project and changed our current directory to the created folder

initialize the Vagrant project:

vagrant init

Setup 2: Configure the Vagrantfile

After running the init command a file is downloaded to that directory. The Vagrantfile is the core configuration file. Open it in any text editor and modify it:
Use a specific box (e.g.Ubuntu)

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.box = "ubuntu/bionic64"
end

Setup 3: Provision and Access the VM

Start the VM by running this script

vagrant up

When completed, you can access the VM with this script.

vagrant ssh

Congratulations you have provisioned a Virtual Machine using Vagrant, I know easy right😁. Up next we will be provisioning multiple VMs with Vagrant

Provisioning Multiple VMs with Vagrant

Setup 1: Modify the Vagrantfile for Multiple VMs

Update your Vagrantfile to define multiple VMs:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.define "web" do |web|
    web.vm.box = "ubuntu/bionic64"
    web.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.56.101"
  end

  config.vm.define "db" do |db|
    db.vm.box = "ubuntu/bionic64"
    db.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.56.102"
  end
  config.vm.define "app" do |app|
    app.vm.box = "ubuntu/focal64"
    app.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.56.103"
  end
end

Setup 2: Launch and Manage Multiple VMs

Start all VMs:

vagrant up

At this point, all the VMs will get provisioned one after the other.

Start a specific VM: You could also decide to spin up a specific VM, rather than all the VMs.

vagrant up web

SSH into a specific VM:

vagrant ssh db

Lastly, Halt all VMs

vagrant halt

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!!! 🥂🍾 Multiple VMs provisioned with one line.

5. Tips for smooth sailing

Understand Vagrant’s Commands: Familiarize yourself with vagrant status, vagrant halt, and vagrant destroy.
Backup Your Vagrantfile: It’s the heart of your configuration.
Experiment Freely: Vagrant’s disposable environments encourage experimentation.

6. Conclusion and Next Steps

With Vagrant, you hold the keys to efficient, reproducible virtualization. From provisioning a single VM to managing a fleet, it’s your gateway to seamless development and testing.

Now that you’ve got the basics, why not explore advanced provisioning with tools like Ansible or Docker integration? The possibilities are endless, and with Vagrant, they’re always a command away.

ANY QUESTIONS?